foreign language, richard scarry, and the pope

we read Richard Scarry in this house. every day. we love it when far away friends read Richard Scarry too! last night we were reading “Good Luck in Rome” from Busy, Busy World. the runaway car goes speeding through St Peter’s Square, and i realized that on the fridge was a picture taken looking the same direction, up toward the papal apartments. so i went and got the photograph and showed Mabel tiny John Paul and told her about the day my mom and me and my brother Paul stood in the Square in among a happy crowd singing “Silent Night” and then shutters had been thrown open and the pope talked of hope in this dark world. a lovely connection.

the next morning she was singing some sort of made up song and told me it was Spanish that she was singing. i told her that it sounded more like Latin to me. her ears perked up…she listens to a tape of plainsong as she falls asleep each night. and she wanted to hear some Latin, so i sang the only little bit i know. just the first few phrases of the Lord’s Prayer. then we found this lovely recording of John Paul himself singing the Pater Noster.